Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Grand Complication High Jewellery – Moon Dust; Sir David Beckham is knighted while Lady Victoria Beckham sports a Patek Philippe haute joaillerie watch; GPHG announces winners in Geneva. Photos: Handout/Xinhua
Victoria Beckham picked a special watch for Sir David Beckham’s knighting, and Chopard and Vacheron Constantin unveiled exciting new creations
November was packed with high horology moments the world over. In Geneva, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève gathered once again to honour the year’s best watches, while in Dubai, retailer Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons organised the most well-attended Dubai Watch Week yet.
In the UK, the newly minted Lady Victoria Beckham sported a stunning watch to complement the outfits she designed for herself and her husband – now Sir David Beckham – at the latter’s knighthood investiture.
And brands like Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Czapek and Omega released major updates to their collections, while LVMH partnered with La Joux-Perret by purchasing a minority stake to produce even more cutting-edge watch movements.
Dubai Watch Week was bigger and better than ever
Urwerk x Ulysse Nardin UR-Freak. Photo: Handout
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Dubai Watch Week returned to the Middle East, where over 90 brands exhibited new releases to some 49,000 visitors from November 19 to 23. Watch professionals, enthusiasts, collectors, artisans and more converged on an all-new site, Burj Park, one of Dubai’s green spaces, for what many are calling one of the best watch fairs of the year – a huge claim considering the fair is organised by just one retailer, Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons.
Ancestra Yao by Atelier Wen x Revolution Watch. Photo: Handout
What sets this year’s Dubai Watch Week apart from previous editions are the sheer amount of gobstopping releases from major brands saved specifically for this occasion. Chopard unveiled the Grand Strike, a new masterpiece from its L.U.C. collection, while sci-fi watchmakers Urwerk and Ulysse Nardin partnered to release the UR-Freak. Meanwhile, Atelier Wen collaborated with Revolution Watch to debut a new type of finishing for its latest collection: the Ancestra Yao features enamelling from Chinese master Kong Linjun in addition to a gratté dial.
Tudor Ranger Dune White. Photo: Handout
Brands like Tudor and H. Moser & Cie leaned heavily into the desert surrounds of the fair for their releases. Tudor launched a new addition to its Ranger collection featuring a Dune White dial, as well as a small-wrist-friendly 36mm iteration that’s one of the year’s sleeper hits from the brand. Not to be outdone, H. Moser & Cie released a compelling Streamliner Perpetual Moon Concept Meteorite that features a meteorite dial and a gold-toned fume effect finishing.
Girard Perregaux Laureato Three Gold Bridges. Photo: Handout
Girard Perregaux, Bremont, Bell & Ross also rolled out their own hits. The former released the Laureato Three Gold Bridges, a model that sees its famous three gold bridges movement layout in its popular sports watch configuration, while Bremont released its most daring version of the Terra Nova Jumping Hour yet with an aventurine dial. Bell & Ross made full use of its signature square dial to showcase a tourbillon and a micro-rotor in the new BRX3 Tourbillon Micro Rotor.
These are but a fraction of the stunning releases from all the brands at Dubai Watch Week, but if this year’s fair is anything to go by, collectors will be doubly spoiled in autumn watch seasons to come.
